When we left Pepin High School, we continued in a southerly direction on Highway 35, which roughly follows the Mississippi to the west. I could feel the humidity, even early in the morning, but it didn't feel too bad. Even when it warmed up, it wasn't too oppressive, even though my face was dripping. I guess having little wind, a beautiful river, and other interesting things to look at made it a pleasant day (even if it was 90 miles).
Early in the day we rode by a field of sunflowers. I love sunflowers!
In the distance, you can see the mist on the cliffs. There are cliffs like that on both sides of the Mississippi, in Wisconsin and Minnesota.
There are quite a few dams and lock along the Mississippi. They didn't have names like the dams in the Northwest do. They were Dam #4, Dam #5, etc. This is Dam #4.
For awhile we got off of Highway 35 and rode through neighborhoods that were right next to the river.
The tiny Viking Hotel has an appropriate statue in front of it.
This looks like a very important porta potty.
About halfway through the ride, we turned inland and headed east toward Sparta, our destination. It was so green! Other than the roads, houses, barns, and cows, everything was green.
I love this little windmill farm.
We rode up and down hills, turning left and right over again (so it felt like we were riding in circles), and finally we reached Sparta, the Bicycling Capital of America. According to the Sparta website, the Elroy-Sparta bike trail (which we will be riding tomorrow) was the first rails-to-trails path in the country.
Our dinner was at Ginny's Cupboard, a small restaurant in downtown Sparta. The food was EXCELLENT! The downtown area, the stores and houses, look really nice. This is a place I'd come back to.
After drying out my wet tent, I decided to sleep I'm sleeping in the cool, air-conditioned school gym tonight. This guy is sitting on the bleachers, keeping watch over us. He's just a little creepy.
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